What’s the future for Social Media? LinkedIn group lists FAQ’s

One of my favorite LinkedIn groups for industry discussions is FUTURE SOCIAL MEDIA. In a recent conversation, group members offered the social media questions most asked of them.

Can you answer any of these 15 questions?

OR

Are any of these YOUR own questions?

1. Is Social Media a buzz or here to stay?

2. Does marketing through Social Media really work?

3. Is Social Media just for kids or there is a business element?

4. What is the ROI on Social Media activities?

5. How can you track revenue from social media activities?

6. How can I find my target audience(s)?

7. What are the most important metrics I should measure?

8. How has social media affected customer buying decisions?

9. How do I rise above the noise that I see on social media channels?

10. How much time does it take to generate leads via social media platforms?

11. How many likes can you get me?? How many followers can you get me on Twitter by the end of the week?

12. If SM is FREE, why do you charge? That one is like a slap on the face. Lol.

13. With so many self-proclaimed “Social Media Gurus/Ninjas/Experts” what questions are important to ask a company that is trying to sell me Social Media services?

14. Will social media kill email as we know it?

15. Can social media help me do my job better?

One of the main reasons I posted these FAQ’s is because so many business people still “fear” social media — and don’t know how to get past the uncertainty of the revolutionary new world of marketing.

Best practice is to get started, but go slowly and get these questions answered. Plan your strategy and participation . . . and don’t expect immediate results.

BTW, if any readers have written — or have found — articles to answer any of these questions, please list these resources in the comment section below.

Late Postscript: Here is a comment from a typical member of my primary target audience:

“I feel like a lot of businesses, unfortunately, recognized the value of Social Media a little too late, and are trying to get in when the market has been saturated. I have a love/hate relationship with Social Media myself; while I utilize FB and LinkedIn, I’m not on Twitter, or some of the other media sites as of yet. I love the accessibility factor: that those who visit both of my sites can share the articles I’ve written with others around the world instantaneously. I hate the fact that I feel as if my entire life is on public display, and as a very private person, I take issue with ALL of my info being accessible ALL of the time.” —posted 6/16 by Angela Bendon

14. Will social media kill email as we know it? I’ll tackle this one – no, it helps lower my email flow. I get and send emails when I want to talk to one person or two people alone, usually about a specific task or project. I get less group sends of all sorts of stuff about a topic a friend loves – friends usually do that in Facebook nowadays.

FYI, I saw a talk by Anthony Rotolo of Syracuse U. yesterday at the 140 Conference. He reminded me of you because he also teaches social media. He seems to have a different style – he challenges the students to make a video and have it go viral (an impossible task, he says, but a learning one).

Leora, I’ll check Anthony out. From my experience teaching my online course in Social Media for Journalists, when “we” [i.e. those educating others in social media] have an “official” course to teach, the sky is the limit in where we can send our brains to devise new teaching/implementation strategies!

BTW, my own take on #14 is a bit more optimistic for the power of “140” to streamline our online communication [e.g. email] to replace email as our primary means to send messages.

Jun 16, 20119:57 am

#3 Deborah :

These are great questions, and it would be great to compile some resources that answer them. Thanks for compiling the list!

I feel like a lot of businesses, unfortunately, recognized the value of Social Media a little too late, and are trying to get in when the market has been saturated. I have a love/hate relationship with Social Media myself; while I utilize FB and LinkedIn, I’m not on Twitter, or some of the other media sites as of yet. I love the accessibility factor: that those who visit both of my sites can share the articles I’ve written with others around the world instantaneously. I hate the fact that I feel as if my entire life is on public display, and as a very private person, I take issue with ALL of my info being accessible ALL of the time.

I’ll try No 3 – s social media just for kids? Mark Zuckerberg says he wants under 13’s on Facebook, but meanwhile he allows Branchout to launch an app on Facebook for professionals in direct competition with LinkedIn. This is not just for kids, but interestingly they want it to be all inclusive. A woman has been given a suspended prison sentence for contempt of court in the UK for posting on Facebook and doing a search about a defendant on Google. We are still discovering what social media and its use is all about.

I certainly haven’t learnt yet how to effectively use it to connect with the people I want to although I do connect to young people, through to the baby boom generation using Farmville. I now have Farmville players not just reading my Farmville blogs but the average visitor reads at least two blogs and about 50% of them play Farmville. I am also starting to connect using Twitter. Twitter is different because I don’t appear to connect to all ages. I think most of my Twitter followers are professional.

I’m going to try to tackle questions #1. Social media has certainly taken the world by storm, but then again, so did the telephone, television, and Internet.

Even though all the previous mentioned technologies are still around, they have become less valuable over time, constantly in the shadows of the next “big” thing. Social media will retain the “buzz” until something new comes along.

We see evidence of this in society constantly as new iPhones come out and new apps to do this thing and that. I feel like we will always be evolving and so will the technology that we surround ourselves with. Social media will never go away, but I feel that it will one day be in the shadow of something yet to come.

Good points, Rachel. One big problem with the idea of “Buzz” is that people may not take the new tools and strategies seriously. This is definitely a mistake as the “catch up” needed later on may be too much of a challenge for the laggards and dinosaurs.

Interesting list – I kind of stumbled over the question about ROI on social media, only because I think it depends on your business and specifically which arm we’re talking about. In otherwords, I don’t believe all social media is created equal and it’s still up to the business owner to pay due diligence as far as targeting media outlets as well as the audience.

I am sitting in a college lounge listening to a couple of students discuss the finer nuances of posting on Facebook. I don’t think they are going to solve the world’s problems today, but it’s not an uncommon conversation to overhear.

The use of the Internet, the various sites and tools have moved a certain percentage of the population online to function primarily online. If I don’t check my email, my Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts at least twice a day I’m afraid I’m going to miss something important. I don’t yet have a smart phone, but that’s coming. I shop and get my news online. I share my opinions and my passions online. I don’t think I could take a vacation without some sort of electronic attachment and that makes me sad.

For those that don’t think that the Internet and Social Media in particular is here to stay and is having an evolving affect on how we connect and function on a daily basis should try going without for 48 hours. Turn off the phone, you can’t swipe any credit card for purchases (when was the last time you saw someone take a physical impression of your cc? HA!), turn off the computer, TV, satellite radio, or tablet. See how you function in an electronic-less world.

The thought makes me squirm. Geez, I have a serious addiction. You?

RICK

PS If you want to catch a bit of the past check out @Grandma’s 2 cents on Facebook. I set up a fan page for my mother and she’s having a ball. Now’s it’s retro-generational. Hey, don’t forget to like her page!! Arrrgh!

Carla, yes, I agree mostly, but I would say that it all starts with WHERE you want to go. The problem is that when people don’t have a clue about the possibilities available with social media and technology, it is hard to frame the right goals.

Social Media has really made a very big impact in our lives. We get busy the whole day and do not have quality time but even those who do not work on the internet somehow manage to visit social networking sites. From keeping in touch with friends to getting influenced in buying decisions all shows the important role of the social media in our lives.

I think social media is the great platform from where you can easily help your business to grow globally. The questions you asked are really the god ones. When i first start that time i was also thinking in my mind is it really work but after a month when i saw the responses that social media is really creating traffic.

Wayne, social media is really the marketing and communications of the Future . . . as well as the Now!

Dec 11, 20117:22 pm

#21 Jeanette Bridges :

Great list of questions, I too have been asked many of them. Turn off the phone, you can’t swipe any credit card for purchases (when was the last time you saw someone take a physical impression of your cc?

Interesting list of questions 🙂 Some of them have a “hard” question. Questions like “8. How has social media affected customer buying decisions?” makes you realize that the influence of the media is too strong. I like that post 😉

Apr 2, 20124:50 am

#23 Kent@Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers :

I’ve read an article about ROI entitled “Beyond Likes: How Google and Adobe Aim to Measure Your True Social ROI” from Mashable, and it gave good perspective on Social media works on ROI.

Social Media is some kind of new in business. It’s a new way to help your business into a different level not only in tradition way. In general and in my own experience, it’s effective in some way because of some reasons. Social Media means users/people that is socializing and exploring over the web with new topic, events, and anything under the sun. For which people can participate into your business by social media techniques. I like how you raise those questions because I’m not convinced if all those factors can help your business through Social Media.

Social media for business is killing this guys business, and he didn’t seem to care if the sad part. Oh well, there is no helping those who don’t want help. Social media for business is all about making it a 2-way conversation. If you’re only broadcasting on your social media, you’re not engaged with your market. Slightly more Washington, DC area residents bought a daily deal coupon for a merchant they had not tried before (25%), than for merchants they had made a previous purchase from (21%), whereas a similar proportion of Baltimore area residents purchased these daily deal coupons both for merchants they are trying for the first time and for merchants they had experience with in the past (17% vs. 16%)

Does marketing through Social Media really work? 64% of business owners say social media marketing is a promising tactic and they believe it provides returns — but they aren’t willing to go all in with it just yet and favor a more cautious approach. 20% are more bullish on its potential, according to the same study, while just 6% are hardcore skeptics.

Jun 23, 20123:39 am

#28 maryembatool :

I’m very like it! Social Media is some kind of new in business. It’s a new way to help your business into a different level not only in tradition way!

I guess I am not the only one who is thinking whether social media marketing would really last or not. But I think this is something that we should take advantage because the truth is it is working. A lot of business have already proven how powerful this online tool is.

These questions are buzzing on my mind. Using the social media for marketing purposes is another useful way in maximizing the medium that can be easy access for the clients. These are questions worth thinking and pondering for.

It is important and probably can help to a business future. One of the factors to consider is how it affects your business. There are also a lot of factors to understand as what you have listed. It is also important that it is suited to your business. Social media actually help your business because it is the modern way to market your service or product. The only key for success of this technique is to make sure that the way is correct and it has a right purpose because there are a lot of frauds out there that makes the social media look bad.

Thought-provoking!Upgrading yourself daily in social media marketing field is very essential to today s world.And you have correctly said that to plan our strategy and participation and not to expect immediate results.SMM is very vital part for attracting traffic Promotion of a website if it is done properly.

8.How has social media affected customer buying decisions? Ans : At the end of the day, people buy from places they trust and can engage with — and listen to them. You can quantify that light or heavy but it’s just basic common sense in the grand scheme of things. As social enhances the above-mentioned conditions, then it drives business. To me, that’s kind of obvious 🙂